


you've set my soul to dreaming

by larryink (blynrin)



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Christmas fic, Fluff, Kid Fic, Oneshot, an unfinished snowman, like they're legit kids, louis never actually named his fox..., snowball fights, spot the giraffe, stuffed animals
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-20
Updated: 2014-12-20
Packaged: 2018-03-02 12:35:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,058
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2812193
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blynrin/pseuds/larryink
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>christmas au,</p>
<p> </p>
<p>  <i>"harry i'm too old to be playing with stuffed animals. i'm ten now," he said. harry's bright smile dimmed a bit and louis hated it. he sighed. "fine, alright." he picked up his fox and moved the arms around in a wild flailing wave. "hello spot!" </i></p>
<p> </p>
<p>  <i>harry laughed, and it was probably the best sound louis had ever heard.</i></p>
            </blockquote>





	you've set my soul to dreaming

**Author's Note:**

> hello !! so this is part of the holiday cheer fic challenge. here's what i got:  
> universe: mythical creatures  
> type: fluff  
> element: christmas stuffed animals/animals
> 
> AND so what i did was i kind of cheated ? maybe ?  
> i looked up mythical creatures relating to christmas and got a bunch of dumb movie results and stuff, and then things about santa. and writing this right now i realize i could have done something with the reindeer but... idk, i liked the idea i got from "the night the animals talked"
> 
> however, it didnt go exactly as planned seeing as there arent any actual animals talking, but "mythical" (do talking animals count as mythical ?) creatures that live in tv and louis and harry's imaginations seemed enough for me :)
> 
> title taken from the song _a baby just like you_ , a holiday song by john denver (and the muppets ??)

"duck! _watch out!_ "

louis had barely any time to dodge the snowball thrown at his face before it hit the side of the house. his eyes widened, and niall started laughing hysterically. harry snorted and liam chastised the two of them as louis and zayn walked out onto the porch with coats and boots on, hats pulled down over their ears and gloves keeping their hands warm. 

louis scowled and grabbed a handful of snow, stalking over to niall and shoving it down his shirt with a triumphant grin. 

"hey! what'd you do that for?" niall whined, trying to get the quickly melting snow from touching his skin. louis just shrugged, listening to harry laughing loudly at them. 

"hazza, you're next!" he yelled, and ran toward harry as the boy screeched and turned to run. 

except he slipped on the snow and fell on his face. he stayed down there for a few moments before he got up, louis watching him with wide eyes before he started giggling madly because there was a small harry hole in the snow. 

harry pouted because he was soaked, walking up to louis and wiping the snow from his gloves onto louis' new coat. louis let him get away with it because, well, it was harry. 

they continued playing outside for a while longer, but halfway through their snowman louis noticed how shaky harry's hands were, and how red his nose was. he seemed cheerful enough, but soon louis knew it was time to head in, and that was in part due to harry (not that he would say that to the other three). 

"hey, anyone up for some hot chocolate? it's getting cold out here and i know mum's got some waiting for us inside!" louis exclaimed, smiling. harry shot him a grateful glance and moved closer to louis' side when they all filed in the door, a stampede of loud voices and stomping feet as they undressed from their winter gear and louis' mum sets out five mugs on the tabletop. 

zayn kicked niall's chair under the table, which led to an argument and then before anyone knew it, they were wrestling on the floor and bumping into furniture. zayn had niall pinned to the floor triumphantly before he was kicked off, and the wrestling started again. liam was frowning at them but louis was egging them on loudly, harry speaking up occasionally. 

it was only when jay walked in that the two stopped, getting up from the floor with flushed skin and sheepish smiles. "sorry, mum." louis apologized. 

jay just shook her head and smiled. "it's fine, louis. just be careful, yeah?" she shifted her focus to liam and zayn, who had sat down next to liam's feet while niall had claimed the chair by harry. "liam, your mum's here to pick you and zayn up. go and collect your stuff, she's in the entryway."

they scurried off, liam's long hair flinging into his face as they ran. niall perked up. "my mum's not here yet, though, right?" he asked. jay shook her head and the three remaining boys cheered before they also stood up. harry collected all of their mugs and put them in the sink, before hugging jay around her middle. "thanks for the hot chocolate mum," he said, then skipped off to join both niall and louis where they waited for him in the doorway. they were going to go say goodbye to liam and zayn, but louis was confused. he looked at his mum, seeing her watching harry with a fond smile on her face. he knew because he had it too when he looked at harry. 

"why did you call my mother 'mum'?" he asked harry when they were approaching zayn and liam, niall already doing their secret handshake. 

harry looked up at him, surprised. "um, i don't know? i didn't mean to, didn't even realize i did it," he frowned, looking down at his socked feet. the other boys ignored them for now. "it just felt right. she's like another mum for me, y'know?"

louis nodded. he did know. anne was the same for him, she took care of him so well. she had bandaged up his scraped knees almost as much as his actual mum (but her kisses weren't as good, not that he would ever tell harry that).

harry smiled and grabbed louis' hand, trailing after the boys as they greeted liam's mother in the entryway where she was talking with jay. louis gripped his hand tightly and smiled at his feet. 

\----

it was probably 7:30 by the time niall left, and harry and louis were exhausted. they were cuddled up together under a large comforter in louis' livingroom, watching the tv mindlessly as jay bustled about in the kitchen doing mum things. louis didn't really know. 

suddenly, louis jumped off the couch. "harry! i have your christmas presents!" he yelled in excitement, because he'd just remembered. "i'll be right back," he promised, not waiting for an answer before racing up the stairs. he grabbed the badly wrapped gifts and ran downstairs again, plopping down next to harry and thrusting the gifts in his face. harry took them with wide eyes and an unsure smile. 

"mum said i could give them to you early! since we wont see each other until christmas night, and that's too long to wait!" it was only five days but he was impatient. "go ahead and open them, i wrapped 'em myself." he grinned proudly. harry looked down and started unwrapping. 

the first gift was a giraffe stuffed animal. harry's face lit up and louis couldn't help the butterflies that erupted in his tummy. 

the second was a colorful notebook with really cool designs on it, but smaller than the notebooks they used in school. louis thought harry could use it for a journal. 

"a diary!" harry exclaimed, and louis smiled. 

"i guess so, haz. diaries are for girls, though, aren't they?"

harry squinted at him. "no, they can be for boys too. i want it to be a diary." he stood up on the couch and walked closer to louis. plopping down in his lap, he wrapped his little arms around louis' neck and hugged him tight. "thank you boo, i love them. i love you."

louis buried his face in harry's hair. "i love you too."

\----

christmas eve brought louis' tenth birthday and a bunch of presents. despite the holiday, he loved his birthday. it was the happiest time of the year and it always felt like everyone was celebrating _his_ birth, not the child jesus christ. 

christmas day brought more presents and lots of food. he spent it with his family before they headed over to the styles' home for even more food. when he entered the house he ran straight to harry's room to show him all the new toys he'd gotten. 

"harry! harry look what i got," he said to the excited boy. they sat on harry's floor and played for hours with the racecars and other toys before they were called downstairs for dinner. 

louis got up but before he made it to the door, harry caught his wrist. "lou, wait," he said and louis turned around patiently to see harry crawling under his bed. his feet were kicking up in the air as he grabbed whatever he was looking for, and he wriggled out of the small space so he could bound over to louis. 

he was holding a bag filled with wrapping paper and louis smiled and took it. when he dug inside he found two framed pictures, and a stuffed fox. the frame for the first picture had a scribbly "best friends" written on it and showed the five of them together, him, harry, niall, liam, and zayn all outside having a watergun fight and the second was just a picture of the two of them, grinning wildly at the camera with goofy smiles on their faces. louis' tongue was out and his eyes were crossed and harry was making the face that makes him look like a frog. underneath it just had a cute heart and louis wanted to cry. 

"harry these are the best presents i've ever gotten," he said sincerely, because they _were_. they were from his favorite person in the world. the toys he'd gotten didn't have anything on these. 

harry blushed, and his answering smile could light up the world. 

\----

they sat around watching christmas movies all night at louis' request, because all the excitement of the past few days were catching up with him, and he was getting older. it was tough on a person. 

he'd also gotten up when it was still dark out to see what santa had gotten him, so... he was tired, alright?

_the night the animals talked_ started playing and louis cuddled closer to harry, both of them hugging their stuffed animals. 

"wouldn't it be so cool if animals could talk, boo?" harry asked him, and louis nodded. "imagine all the things they could tell us. all the secrets, too!"

louis giggled at his rhyme. "you're nosy, you'd figure out any secrets anyway. but, yeah i guess it'd be pretty cool. but wouldn't it be annoying to hear all the birds screaming at you in the mornings?"

harry shook his head. "no, because think of all the good things. all those rescue dogs and cats and stuff, and they would be able to say anything! i think it would be amazing to hear what they have to say!" he stuck out his giraffe stuffed animal and started talking in an exaggerated deep voice. "hi i'm spot-" louis snorted at the name. of course harry would name him spot. "-and harry is the coolest person ever. aside from louis... i guess." he giggled. 

louis rolled his eyes but he couldn't help the grin that took over his expression. harry looked up at him expectantly. "louis, c'mon! play with me."

"harry i'm too old to be playing with stuffed animals. i'm ten now," he said. harry's bright smile dimmed a bit and louis hated it. he sighed. "fine, alright." he picked up his fox and moved the arms around in a wild flailing wave. "hello spot!" 

harry laughed, and it was probably the best sound louis had ever heard. 

they sat on the couch for a while longer before anne came over and said it was time for bed. the adults had all gathered in the kitchen and soft christmas music was playing from a radio in the corner. both louis and harry pouted up at her before she sighed. "louis can spend the night if he wants," she relented, because jay had already said he could if they wanted. the two of them cheered tiredly before getting up to head upstairs. "don't forget to brush your teeth!" she called after them, and harry nodded. 

"alright mum!" he rubbed his eyes before grabbing louis' hand with the free one he wasn't holding onto his giraffe with. they went into harry's room to put on their pajamas before walking into the bathroom. harry handed louis the spare toothbrush that sits next to his, the brush that's kept there just for louis. 

afterward, they climbed into bed with their stuffed animals and got under the comforter, harry snuggling right up to louis' side. louis kissed his head and entwined their legs together.

"louis?" harry asked him. louis glanced down at the boy, barely able to make out his face in the light from the dim nightlight in the corner. 

"yeah, haz?"

"will you play stuffed animals with me?" harry's voice was laced with exhaustion, and louis was tired too. but harry also sounded hopeful, so he nodded. 

they pulled up their animals and created an elaborate world where animals could talk and humans didn't know. they feigned sleep when jay and anne stopped in to check on them before jay went home, and when louis tried to sit back up after they'd left, he realized harry had actually fallen asleep on his chest. he ran his hands through harry's curls and closed his eyes, murmuring a goodnight to him before he as well drifted off. 

the two of them dreamt of a world of white snow and christmas where animals spoke and they were the only ones who knew.

**Author's Note:**

> find me on tumblr @zaynink, and kudos/comments appreciated !!! thank you x
> 
> ps also still looking for a beta for all my fics ?? haha


End file.
